Tragic South Shields dad who died of testicular cancer just weeks before birth of daughter to be remembered at charity football match

Michael Hall, 27, from The Nook, South Shields, died in May – just two weeks before the birth of his daughter Chloe Grace on what would have been his 28th birthday.

The much-loved man was in the rare 10% of cancer patients who don’t show any signs of the disease until it kills them.

Though previously complaining of backache and a bout of sickness a few days earlier, Michael displayed no symptoms at all on the day he collapsed at home, and was admitted to hospital with a pulmonary embolism.

The next day his family were faced with the devastating decision to turn off his life support machine.

“It was very rapid, we were told that he might wake up brain damaged, and the following day we had to make the decision to turn his machines off, he was brain dead,” said Michael’s cousin, Caroline Hall, from Jarrow.

“You just don’t expect it to happen, not at that age.”

Now Michael’s friends and family have organised a football match in his memory, to raise money for his partner Amy Day, 26, baby daughter Chloe, and six-year-old stepdaughter, Amelia.

The event, on Sunday, September 1, at Harton Welfare sports club in South Shields, will also include a raffle to raise funds for Cancer Research UK, organised by Caroline and Michael’s dad, David Hall.

“Michael didn’t have a pension or any savings with them just being young,” said Caroline.

“His friends decided to organise a football match to raise some money to help Amy with the kids.”

Representatives from Cancer Research UK will be there on the day to give advice and highlight the importance of men checking their own bodies.

“We’ve seen a lot of cases lately where people have been to their GP complaining of a bad back and it has turned out to be cancer, and they’ve been quite young,” Caroline added.

“We want to try and raise awareness and highlight the issue.”